Chrysanthemums
by PrincipessaBel
Summary: I curled up into the most respectful bow and enunciated each syllable of my apology with dripping sarcasm. "Hontouni gomenasai, Tobio-nii-sama." Why do I have to swallow my pride again? Oh yeah. Because having a twin brother, in the name of Kageyama Tobio, is anything but fair.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

 _Summer, 2_ _nd_ _Year Junior High_

* * *

The sōzu* looked uglier today... Or maybe it's because I am 'excused' from observing the tea ceremony in order to babysit my ugly twin. _Seriously_ , I am merely thirteen years old and I have better things to do than seethe in disgust at the sight of the boy I hated most.

A repetitive sound of a ball, hitting the surface of the rocky pathway in the gardens, irked my nerves. My hand immediately turned into a fist. It is a habit that I often found completely useless when confronted by the fact that the boy in front of me is a complete moron.

I glared at Tobio with passionate hatred that will put… someone else's hate to shame. "You're annoying." I hear myself say in a strained voice. I can't help it. The sōzu has been tapping away in the past hour now and he's adding to the noise that's getting on my nerves.

He turned his head towards me uninterestedly. Tobio's dark blue irises, that mirrored my own, glazed with boredom while he proceeded to stare at me. 'Shut up' were the only words he retorted…

Yet it added _so much_ fuel to my current fiery rage. If I were in an anime, a vein or two could probably be visible around my temple. I took a moment to inhale deeply and exhale slowly. Mother will scold me once again if I started shouting at my 'older brother'. I closed my eyes shut in attempt to vanish any negative thoughts about Tobio and his annoying ball.

To my surprise, there was silence in the garden. The constant tap of the sōzu and the running water were the only things I can hear.

I sighed in relief. Good riddance—

 _Domuuuu. Domuuuu. Domuuu. Domuuu._

 _Oh, freaking Kami-sama, help me!_ My mind internally groaned. Stupid Tobio's at it again. "You're really annoying..." I gritted my teeth as he was slapping the ball downwards, making that ridiculously annoying sound once again.

His focus was towards the ball, not even taking a second to look back at me. "Shut up." He said.

"Stop that!" I ordered.

"Shut up." He said.

"Argh!" I can't take it anymore! Stomping towards him, I shouted, "I said stop it, Tobio!" With my current height of one hundred and seventy-seven, I easily over-towered him by ten centimeters. What with his lack of height, he's better off not playing volleyball at all. Even his senpai, Oikawa-san, said that a midget like him won't survive as a member, much less a setter, for the volleyball team. "Give me that ball!" I snatched the ball from his grasp but Tobio gripped the said object with a surprisingly inhuman strength.

A dark and ominous aura surrounded my twin in a matter of seconds. "Let go." He commanded.

"Kiku!" My head spun towards the shrill voice, my hold of Tobio's ball loosened and I eventually let go of it. "That is not the way to treat your older brother!"

I hid my hands behind my back, afraid that she'll start whipping me again with those pesky thin bamboo sticks that hurt for hours on end. I can feel Tobio's eyes staring at me. Despite his usual poker-face façade, I can tell that he's amused at the scene unfolding in front of his very eyes a.k.a. the time where he'll get to see me being punished again. Pouting, I mumbled softly, "He's only older by a few minutes."

"He's still older than you." Our mother said sharply, her hands on her hips. "Bow your head and ask for forgiveness."

I bowed shallowly, inwardly rolling my eyes in the process and said a brief ' _gomen_ , Tobio.'

My mother gasped. She hit the back of my head with the wooden fan she magically produced. "That is utterly disrespectful, young lady! Rephrase your words and bow lower!" She ordered me, obviously offended at my attitude towards my twin.

"Psh…" Knowing that my mother wouldn't be happy if I gave Tobio a measly fourty-five degrees bow, I sank to my knees - hiding the fact that the small sharp rocks in between the pathways in the garden hurt like hell. I curled up into the most respectful bow and enunciated each syllable of my apology with dripping sarcasm. " _Hontouni gomenasai_ , Tobio-nii- _sama_." _Why do I have to swallow my pride again?_ Oh yeah. Because having a twin brother, in the name of Kageyama Tobio, is anything but fair.

Waiting for an okay signal from my mother, I stayed in that horrifying position for more than a few minutes. Mother gave out a long disappointed sigh, "I do not like your tone, Kiku, but I suppose that will be suffice for you, Tobio?"

"Yes, mother. I forgive Kiku." Tobio said in the most monotonous (or was that sincere) way possible.

"That's a good boy." Seems that mother took it as a sincere reply, patting Tobio's mass of black hair. I stood up, a frown gracing my face and a glare shot towards my identical twin. My mother ruffled my hair and said, "Play nice and no shouting, Kiku." She retreated back to the house, leaving me alone with Tobio in the gardens.

He picked up his ball.

To my utter horror and annoyance, he started bouncing the ball with more force that the sound was thrice louder than earlier. I grunted at his obvious tease, "I hate you so much, Tobio."

"Shut up."

* * *

 **A/N:**

* _Sōzu_ : is a type of water fountain. This noise is intended to startle any herbivores such as deer or boars which may be grazing on the plants in the garden.

Hi guys! Me again! This is just going to be a short drabble series because I needed to get this out of my system… and random thoughts about Tobio having a twin is frequently in my mind right now. This is somewhat an AU where Tobio have an identical twin... because who knows what kind of families our precious crows have.

A short introduction about my OC, Kageyama Kiku (影山 菊): Kiku is a girl born in the shadow of her twin. This resulted in her being aloof, silent and observant but also short-tempered, pessimistic and cold. Kiku is often insulted as ' _mute'_ yet when it comes to speaking her mind, her words can be sharp and direct – sometimes, pretty vulgar, too (she blames Tobio). Unlike her twin, Kiku have no passion for sports; she _can_ be a decent player if she wanted to but she really _doesn't_ want to, much to the disappointment of her parents.


	2. 1 - Bento

**Bento**

 _Thursday, Second Week of Classes, 1_ _st_ _Year Junior High_

* * *

It was seven in the morning yet the gym in Kitagawa Daiichi Middle School was filled with enthusiastic and passionate players from its very own volleyball team. Kageyama Tobio sat in the bench alongside his fellow first years. They were watching their team captain, Oikawa Tooru, and their vice-captain, Hajime Iwaizumi, perform a flawless spike. Apparently, some of the members thought that the volleyball club in middle school is like what they do in primary school. This annoyed Tobio because he's stuck _watching_ instead of _practicing_.

Kiku has been rubbing it in his face that he won't ever succeed in being the best setter in Japan. This was due to the fact that his height merely remained between one hundred fifty and one hundred sixty centimeters for nearly about a year now. Just because his twin had her growth spurt in a matter of months doesn't mean that his time in that stage of puberty is never going to come.

Gripping the volleyball in his lap, it infuriated him how he's forced to sit in the bench as Oikawa and Iwaizumi performed yet another perfect spike.

Tobio is craving to get in the court and personally ask their team captain to teach him the perfect way in executing an amazing toss. There was a tap in his shoulder that momentarily shifted his attention. He stared at the upperclassman whom he can't seem to remember the name.

"Kageyama, someone's looking for you." His _senpai_ said, pointing towards the gym's entrance. Tobio look at the direction and nearly lost his composure when he saw his dearest twin, Kiku. He sighed in aggravation while making his way towards the girl. _Why is she here?_ The young setter asked himself.

By the time he's in front of her, Tobio didn't say anything. He merely stared at her with a gaze that (he knew) completely unnerves his twin. Kiku glowered back at him, the usual glare in her dark blue irises present on her eyes. Tobio wasn't fazed. It was the only look she ever gave him ever since they were kids - he's used to that.

Kiku clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Here's your bento." She announced, shoving a light blue lunchbox towards him. "Mother asked me to deliver it for you because you're a _stupid asshat_ who forgets actual important things."

The volleyball genius grunted at the attitude of his younger twin. He didn't like her tone, much less the insults that came with her statement. "Watch your mouth, Kiku." Tobio threatened her, knowing fully well that if this keeps up, Kiku might slip and insult him in front of their parents.

He didn't like how they'd always punish her because of _him_. It makes him feel guilty and liable for all the bruises and wounds that his twin would accumulate. To say the least, it wasn't a fun feeling.

Kiku rolled her eyes in attempt to mock her older twin. "Mother isn't here so I can do and say whatever I may want, _Tobio_." She spat with venom, fully syllabicating his name with sarcasm.

 _She's not gonna listen, is she_? He asked himself and decided that it's too early in the morning to quarrel. "Go away, Kiku." He shoved her out of the gym, "I'm practicing." This resulted in having Kiku scream a stream of indignant phrases that sounded like a rap song to Tobio's ears. It went something as if 'stop it', 'I'm leaving' and 'don't shove me!' can be said in a second without a pause in between the words.

Gazing at Kiku's retreating form, Tobio clicked his tongue. He thought of how his mother would've reacted if she saw Kiku's actions. _Not good_ , he told himself, _it's not gonna to be a good reaction._ With his twin gone, the young setter went back to the benches. His fellow teammates were talking to each other, probably on their way to start with the practices.

"Woah! She gave you that?!" He heard Kindaichi Yutaro whisper to him in an awed tone. They weren't close friends but Tobio acknowledges him and Kunimi Akira as acquaintances from the volleyball team. Tobio blushed in embarrassment. He can't let them know that he forgot his lunch and his twin just _had_ to bring it to him personally. That would be lame.

"Who was that?" Kunimi asked, his facial expression bored but his eyes showed curiosity for Tobio's twin. "Is she a senpai?"

Kageyama blushed harder. Kunimi probably hypothesized that because the difference in Kiku's height in comparison to Tobio's is very huge. He looked away, pouting in annoyance, "It's nothing."

Oikawa made his way towards the trio, "Heeey~ What are you guys lookin' at?" He asked, fake curiosity lacing his voice but the first years either ignored it or they didn't detect it at all.

"A tall girl gave Kageyama a bento, Oikawa-senpai." Kindaichi said, pointing towards the bento that's still in Tobio's arms.

"Ohohoho~" The brunet jeered, teasing his kouhai. Oikawa wasn't fond of Kageyama, especially when the new members were tested in a three-on-three game. The younger setter was a _genius_ \- and Oikawa isn't fond of geniuses. "Tobio-chan's got a girlfriend?" He added, a mocking smirk was gracing his handsome features.

"She's not my girlfriend." Tobio meekly replied. With a laugh, Oikawa punched Kageyama's shoulder lightly, playfully telling him that he won't tell anyone about his girlfriend.

"What's in the bento?" Kindaichi changed the subject, feeling that his fellow first year wasn't comfortable about the current topic.

Tobio was mortified at the question. What if this wasn't their mom's cooking? What if Kiku had taken the opportunity to slip in some poison in his food? With his twin, nothing is impossible because he knew her hatred for him goes past the heavens.

Gulping, he slowly pulled up the lid of the lunchbox, praying to whichever god is available that the food isn't poison. Two cute panda onigiris smiled up at him as they lay in a bed of freshly picked lettuce, sausages were cut into octopus-shapes that are garnished with pink gem-tipped tooth picks and baby potatoes and cherry tomatoes were tucked in between the spaces that the sausages and onigiris didn't occupy. _It wasn't poison_. Tobio knew he should be happy that it wasn't poison but he wanted to slam the bento in Kiku's face. He _would've_ thanked her if he wasn't with his teammates… but alas, he _was_ with his teammates.

If his flaw was being forgetful of his things, Kiku's was just being downright careless with her stuff.

"Well, isn't that cute!" Oikawa's voice resounded in Tobio's ears. The brunet grinned and left them, laughing like a madman at his junior's embarrassment.


End file.
